The Way We Were

The Way We Meet Jade

"When will we get to see the babies again?" Mickey was in love with babies. She, her mother and siblings, her aunts and cousins, the nannies and the animals were in her mother's bedroom sitting on the floor, talking about nothing more than their plans for the summer.

Marcy smiled at her. "They're coming home today."

"Yay!"

"She is so precious!" Quinn cried.

"I cannot wait to have a daughter." Laura pinched the almost five year old's cheek.

"No!" Mally whined. "You need to have more boys!"

"Why, baby?"

"There's too many girls."

"There's five girls and five boys, míjo." Marcy told him.

He thought about it. "Have a boy first then a girl."

Laura kissed his plump cheek. "Okay, sweetie."

"Can I have a girl?" Mercedes teased.

He thought about that. "As long as Tia Quinn has a boy."

"Deal." Mercedes shook his little hand.

He beamed, feeling grown up at negotiating.

"Girl?" Riley peered in Mercedes' face.

Mercedes set the little girl on her lap. "Yes, my little star. Your brother said I can have a girl."

Riley yelled.

"Hey!" Marcy glared at her but it was too late. All the babies began crying.

The mothers and nearby nannies began checking on the infants. In case that wasn't bad enough, the dogs started howling because they weren't getting enough attention.

"Have a family." Marcy muttered. "It'd be fun."

W.W.W.

The large family welcomed the Abramses home. Both Karou and Yuria were glowing and you couldn't hit Arnold in the butt with an apple.

Paris clapped hard. "I hate that I'm the only pregnant one left-!"

Jude took her hand. "What's wrong?"

Paris frowned. "How will I know if my water broke?"

"It's worse than peeing on yourself." Every mother spoke in unison.

"Yup. I'm in labor."

W.W.W.

Turned out, Dramatic Paris and Chill Jude had a role reversal when Paris was in labor. She was super relaxed and he was decidedly not.

Marcy had to talk to him in Russian multiple times.

The only time Paris freaked out was when they brought the needle out. Marcy had had to hold her because Jude fainted.

The men thought it was hilarious while the women shook their heads, thinking about how fragile men could be. Marcy and Yuria knew exactly why he was tripping.

Luckily Jude woke up in time to hold his wife's hand. Marcy, Karou, Asia, China and India got to stay with the almost parents as they witnessed the miracle of birth from behind the pitcher's mound.

Paris gave birth to baby girl, Jade Waters Nixon at one in the morning just three days after her cousins were born.

Jade was extremely light with brown hair and shockingly, purple eyes. Even more shockingly, she wasn't the first person in her (mother's) family with those eyes.

She was twenty inches long, six pounds, five ounces and just as chubby as she wanted to be. She gave the triplets a run for their fat money.

Jude was totally stressed out by this but was completely happy to have his baby girl and his wife safe. The only snag was he wanted to leave the hospital early but innocent Paris didn't understand why.

Marcy had to talk Jude into staying but also offered Mal's services as bodyguard without consulting her husband.

Mal had found that suspicious but Marcy pleaded optically and through their intense connection realized it had something to do with their (Marcy, Jude and Yuria) shared past. So he agreed.

Jude relaxed and everyone left at three fifteen in the morning with promises to return.